Liquor license middleman can make more than $150,000

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BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) - Idaho Alcohol Beverage Control, a division of Idaho State Police, says they have offered nine liquor licenses so far this year in the Boise area. They say there are currently 66 names on a waiting list to get a license. Once your name comes up, the actual cost of a license is only $750. ABC says the next person on the list has been waiting since 1997.

Cheerleaders Bar and Grill knows first hand how hard it is after they opened up near BSU. Co-owner Boomer Godsill said, "It hurt us for five or six months and we had to turn people away all the time because we didn't have liquor. So now we're just getting our business up and going and letting people know we have liquor."

If you're looking for a liquor license quick you can get one through a middle man, anywhere from $150,000 to $300,000. Other businesses say that makes it hard for small bars to open up in Boise. Not only do they have to shell out big money, but you have to find someone willing to sell their license. "It's just kind of the luck of the draw. We had one at the beginning and it fell through, so it took us another seven months to track one down," Godsill said.

Alcohol Beverage Control says even though you may have to go through a middle man to get a license, the system has been working in Idaho since Prohibition.

ABC says in other cities like Nampa and Caldwell, there are no waiting lists to get a license.